Tales of Red Tunics
by Dragon Confused
Summary: Thranduil is coming to visit Imladris, but Elrond and Celebrian have not counted on the contributions of their young sons to the preparations. Main Characters: Elrond, Celebrian, Thranduil, Glorfindel, Erestor, Elladan and Elrohir.


Still not mine, and as usual all belongs to Tolkien.  
  
~*~  
  
"Not dressed like that I'm not!" Glorfindel took a few steps back. "No."  
  
"Glor." Elrond pleaded. "Just this once."  
  
"No." Glorfindel repeated. "Find yourself another fool, Peredhil, for you will not change my mind."  
  
Elrond sighed and glared at his friend. With the party of Thranduil of Mirkwood due to arrive any day now, both he and his wife were struggling to complete the preparations in time. It had been considered a worthwhile sacrifice to do without Glorfindel's assistance for the day, if it would remove a pair of adventurous and demanding elflings from under their feet.  
  
Unfortunately the sacrificial lamb seemed unwilling to wander along its predestined path. Elrond rubbed his temples, and exhaled loudly. He just needed to get rid of his children for a few hours. . . a few short hours. And while he could pull rank and demand that the blond elf entertained the twins, it would break the unwritten rules of their friendship. And one could never be fully sure how Glorfindel would react.  
  
"Glorfindel, please. Will you not do it for me?" Celebrian floated over and placed a hand on Glorfindel's arm, peering up at him with pleading blue eyes. Glorfindel could feel his resolve melting when Celebrian added. "What could possibly go wrong?"  
  
Glorfindel gave Celebrian a look. The image of a tiny body floating face down, dark hair entangled with reeds still haunted him.  
  
"Glor!" Elrond spoke in exasperation, getting to his feet.  
  
Celebrian shot her husband a disapproving look. She could tell by the unhappy downturn to Glorfindel's mouth that he was about to refuse, but did not want to disappoint her.  
  
"What if they change their tunics, will you take them then?" Celebrian gave a beautiful smile. "I feel safe, knowing they are with you."  
  
"Oh, all right." Glorfindel looked down at the two four-year-olds that were standing by the door, their grey eyes moving from face to face anxiously as they followed the conversation. "How would you like to go on an adventure with me?"  
  
The twins jumped up and down, making the variety of excited squeals and shouts that normally accompanied such offers.  
  
"Provided they change their tunics first." Glorfindel reminded, staggering under the onslaught of two violent hugs, one around each knee.  
  
Elrond gave Glorfindel a look that was definitely peevish as Celebrian led the twins back to their bedroom to change. He still felt that the blond elf's Midwinter gift to the twins had been totally unnecessary, and whenever he had the opportunity would dress the children in something other than their favourite tunics.  
  
For some reason his friend had insisted on giving the boys tunics for their Midwinter gift. And not just any tunics; these were dyed a brilliant red of a type not seen since the banners of the Last Alliance. A type of red that had been clearly identifiable over miles of murky battlefield and were now equally visible in the forests and hallways of Imladris.  
  
Since Glorfindel had told the twins that they were Balrog-Slayer tunics, the boys had been unwilling to take them off – having to be prised out of them at bath time, and becoming fretful when they had to be washed.  
  
The boys were perfectly happy, re-enacting that fateful battle and running around in the forests, their tunics as bright as beacons in the shade. Celebrian too was happy, for Glorfindel was once again willing to take care of the boys, enabling her to have some rare free time with her husband. And Glorfindel – Glorfindel was loving every minute of it. For not only was he now able to see the twins no matter how hard they tried to hide, he had succeeded in keeping his friend in a state of constant vexation. Which was just as he liked it.  
  
Only Elrond was in disagreement with the scheme. For he was of the opinion that the tunics were cut from the banners that had seen the filth of that bloody field.  
  
"You did not wear such a tunic when fighting the Balrog." Elrond said sulkily, leaning back into his chair.  
  
Glorfindel laughed, and sat down.  
  
"I did not?" Blond brows curled up teasingly.  
  
"I would have assumed that even one such as you would have had the sense to don armour."  
  
"I would assume that even one such as you would wear something under your mantle." Glorfindel laughed easily, waiting with his mouth slightly open for Elrond's retaliation.  
  
"But I doubt that even you were in the habit of wearing pink." Elrond sat back with a satisfied look, hiding his amusement under a mask of annoyance.  
  
"But that is no mere pink!" Glorfindel leant forwards earnestly in his seat. "That is the red under which the archers of Lorien marched!"  
  
Elrond sat up suddenly with a thunderous expression. Suddenly realising what he had admitted, Glorfindel turned to face the door and tried to adopt an innocent expression.  
  
"I knew it!"  
  
"Here we are." Celebrian sailed into the room, preceded by her two sons, who had their arms outstretched, pretending to be eagles as the careered wildly across the room. "Now are we all ready to go?"  
  
"Yes." Glorfindel sprang up with considerably more enthusiasm than he had shown earlier. He knelt down to face the twins. "Shall we go exploring?"  
  
"Yes!" Elrohir charged at the elf-lord and gave him a hug the width of his outstretched arms.  
  
"Yes! Yes! Lets go!" Elladan bounced up and down on the spot, a small pack hoisted proudly onto his back.  
  
"Yes?" Glorfindel took a small hand in each of his. "Then we must leave at once!"  
  
He shot Elrond a triumphant look as he exited the room, the twins skipping at his sides. Elrond's response was effectively cut off by a certain dangerous glance from his wife. She had no intention of having her perfectly planned and incredibly busy day spoiled by the constant bickering and jibing that her husband and Glorfindel enjoyed.  
  
She had worked hard to get such a well-trained husband. 


End file.
